


Jealousy also could kill the cat

by Tori_1231



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Minor Swearing, minor suggestive descriptions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 04:53:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30033330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tori_1231/pseuds/Tori_1231
Summary: They say “Curiosity killed the cat”. Harry wished that his jealousy alone could kill the cat.
Relationships: Harry Hook/Uma
Kudos: 7





	Jealousy also could kill the cat

  
  


  
They say “Curiosity killed the cat”. Harry wished that his jealousy alone could kill the cat. 

He decided that he hated cats.  
He decided it as soon as he saw one for the first time. 

Cats are rare on the isle of the lost. 

There’s few of them alive and they’re either descendants of black Siberian Lucifer the cat, or Siamese descended from infamous twins. And neither of them were out of capture ranges of granddaughters of Madam Mim and Cruella de Vil. 

One day a cat land on the street for its curiosity and witches will grab it at its tail. Few days later, you’ll see a new muffler made of its fur at the stall market.

The thing about permitting Cruella de Vil to move her own house to the isle as well was, Auradon really should’ve looked better into her closet full of skinners goods. Or they could’ve erased the skinning part of her memories.   
For twenty years why the De Vil’s been well off was she’s got a ton of subjects to do for first decade. Along with Gaston, Clayton, and McLeach, she’s turned into a skillful skinner. 

Cats are easier to catch for them.   
Hence Harry for seventeen years of his life so far never get to look them so close and alive, until right now.

Then he immediately found his disliking in it. 

  
First of all, it looked uglier than he ever expected. It had red as carrot fur, rough and thick that reminded him of belly hair of accordionist on the Jolly Roger. These sooty legs told him that it’s been on its own. Also it stinks like a dumpster on fire. And Harry knew how a dumpster on fire smelled like. He has set a fire on it twice for fun. Not pleasant as spectacular views of isle bonfire.

Harry Hook was born sensitive.   
His eyes are piecing blue and good at perceiving what’s behind the facade. His ears are for listen to the waves below the ship, the rhythms are always same as the beat under the ribs of his sea witch. His nose smells the sea out of deep core of the girl with aqua hair.

Sometimes Harry wonder, if that’s what makes him different about whole _we-shall-not-name-the-name incident_ —he never feel himself okay with uttering mere the single word it is, cursed and forbidden to say since it started haunting Uma, his ride or die—from the majority of the isle. Add to his very heritage of pirates bloodline. Pirates never belittle the sea and creatures belongs beneath the wave. Harry’s a good sailer who has never sailed the sea yet. He can recite all the myth about the deities of seven seas, he believes in jinx most of the time.

“Uma...”

Harry said in a whisper, already getting annoyed with a cat in the arms of the girl he cared.

“What? You said cats brings the ship a good luck”

“—Some people says it has to be a black cat. Whatever is in the details, darling”

See? He strictly follows in jinx. God? Not so much unless it’s water-related.

“He was at the back of our house”

Uma jerked her chin at the back alley of Ursula’s fish and chips. While her hand never take a break from absentmindedly untangling its matted fur, soothing a stray cat comfortably sat in the narrow space between her midarm and chest.   
Harry looked at the cat too big for calling it a kitten, or he doesn’t know, maybe it looked huge since in Uma’s arms. 

_Either way it does not belong there._

Harry’s observing eyes shifted into an antagonizing glare. And it’s so easy to tell what thoughts occupy one’s mind when they have the window-to-their-souls-eyes.   
With a glance Uma noticed the change in his stance on the cat, clicked her tongue twice in disapproval.

“Harry, stop that. This’s a kitty”

“How are you so sure? It might be a devil disguised as a cat to get aboard and gnaw and scratch our precious Lost Revenge in the night”

Harry retorted defensively. Both hands are clinging on his hook, impatient to scare the devil away from his Captain.

“Okay. That’s too wild guess. Even for you”

Quit that, and all conspiracy theories in the store too. Uma told him in Captain’s order voice. He had no choice but obliged out of respect. But she didn’t say anything about pouting.

“We don’t need a ship’s cat. It’s for ships that are under ways!”

Harry hated to say that, but it’s a fact that the Lost Revenge will never sail again unless they have some magical treatment on her cracked keel and giant holes in the side.

“Who said he’s going to be on the ship?”

You know, Uma waited for a second, hanged Harry out with a sight of her licking lower lip.   
That’s what Harry call her out for now and then. Cruel when it’s unnecessary.

“He’ll stay in the shop”

Maybe he’s good hunter. Ratigans have been sniffing around on us again. Uma nodded decidedly, scratching at behind the ear of certain cat which she’s expecting high performance. With or without knowing, he yawned, nuzzled further in her.  
Not on my watch. Just as Harry thought so, Uma left him for the saloon doors of her mother’s dingy grotto. Through the swing door of a pair, her amused chuckles echoed. Promptly urged Harry to follow the vanishing figure over the entrance as always.

“I can borrow snakes from Shere-Khan’s?”

Harry offered an idea hopefully, the more he watches how cozy the unexpected duo gets, the more he felt threatened. He’s getting desperate and his hovering hand over her shoulder just shows how much, fingertips softly glazed some of her sea foam blue braids.

Uma doesn’t budge, just stepping out of his reach while looking at him in the corner of her eye.

“I hated these unevolved eels and you knew it, Harry”

Snakes. Their movement in each every inches creeps her out. Uma shuddered in disgust at her own memories with these loathsome creatures from reoccurring errands for her mother. Like, they’re everywhere at the pawnshop! Slithering its way wherever each one of them believes to be forward as entwined each other like they’re all one big twisted ball of wool.   
_Ew, no._ She isn’t going to deal with them everywhere in her territory.

“They catch rats better!”

Harry argued petulantly.   
  


That’s true.   
When he was about the height as one set of herring barrels, the Jolly Roger had terrible harm of mice going on. They gnawed the ropes apart, bite their ways into the stocks, wet most of black powders.   
Captain Hook was livid, he told Harry to come along, had him carry a steel cage that was just a half of his size, Harry actually was worried about his father put him in and throw the key overboard all the way he’d followed his father, until then he saw the place:Shere-Khan’s Pawn. Which led him started thinking secondary idea that if his father was pawning him for a rifle or something. Just like that, Harry could’ve named at least five ideas with all these possibilities of his father either trying to pawn him or asking old bengal tiger a little favor in exchange of his son for a snack.   
But his father interrupted his inner existential crisis with abrupt demand of a bunch of snakes for a week. Shere-Khan agreed with a sack full of sardines. Guess he’s more of a cat than a wild tiger from the jungle nowadays.

It didn’t even take three days for Hook’s children to see how effective it was.   
Harriet hasn’t seen her socks with two holes in them anymore. CJ didn’t wake up frightened by rats in her bed this morning. And Harry found something looked like a tiny blood pond twice in the loo. Both times snakes were sleeping nearby with its stomach looks full.   
Soon afterwards, the Jolly Roger regained their rats free policy.

_Cats are amateur, snakes are pro._   
That’s his reliable opinion. They actually live on that!

“I still can’t believe that you lived under the same roof with them for a while. That’s gross”

Uma shock her head. Incredibly enough, and he survived. 

The part of quarters which he’d lived at that point was where rats infested the most since it’s just below the storage areas. So Harry’d been forced to sleep with snakes under his bed.   
She’s pretty sure that they could’ve mistaken Harry before hitting the puberty for a juicy steak. 

Only explanation available was, Harry’s a wrestler in his sleep. 

Since they’ve moved into the Lost Revenge, Uma has shared bed with him for months. So she guessed that maybe Harry actually fend snakes off and may or may not have choked them in his sleep. You may think, but Uma isn’t exaggerating at all.   
First night in moldy Captain Quarters, Harry hugged her so tight in his sleep she woke up suffocated. What a way to assassinate the Captain. It’s too much for what the word “cuddle” implied, made her wonder how it would be to encounter a wild bear in the woods.   
She’s not planning to die stupid like that.

“It takes a lot of care and feeding”

Harry pointed out as though a last resort to her stubbornness.   
Yet Uma laughed it off then said.

“Nothing takes more care than Greta and Cornelius”

At least this orange cat in her arms likes his fur dry.   
Greta and Cornelius, —two sea ponies from the Serpent Prep needs five buckets full of clean water per day to breathe comfortable in their little aquarium at classroom.   
Also they would like some tree sponges, algae or corals. These things are hard to come by here on this isle surrounded by polluted water.   
Not to mention they like shrimps. Uma never lets anyone but Harry to come see watching her feeding baby shrimps to them. The coincidence isn’t even funny.

On the other hand, what takes to have a cat?   
He feeds himself.   
He may needs a bath or two but after that he’d licks and keep himself clean.   
Being a cat, he doesn’t even need walks! 

Uma smirked in triumph at Harry, all victorious with her unshakable reasons.

“He stays here and that’s final”

Harry had no choice but nodded, the look on his face sour as seaweed soda they serve at this place. 

While everyone loves seaweed soda, angry Harry? Not sure.

  
  


“I hate him”

Harry grumbled under his breath.

It’s three days later Uma adopted a cat looked like a orange lake ball and the situation gets only worse.   
Harry hated every seconds of watching the cat gets all his ways. Even now as complaining about it, that brat get to be fed by none other than Uma herself! Few minutes earlier she parched fishtails from waste bin in the sink, turned them into crunchy snacks for _Guppy_. Mentally Harry was still at a loss what to say about Uma’s bizarre sense for naming cats. 

_Guppy, really?_  
That troublemaker was far from all cuteness came with the word “Guppy”!   
  


Guppy has been a bitch to him. 

Two days ago, Harry was polishing his hook in utter peace, Guppy came into the picture and started playing with the hem of a rug he’s holding up to, caused his hand be yanked forcefully and scratched himself on a finger with a tip of hook. Before that incident, Harry was greeted with a big annoying growl that morning once he stepped into the shoppe. And Uma chided him for growling back.  
Yesterday he was nothing if not chilling like a villain, then Guppy had to walk on four hairy legs under the table, casually stomped on both his boots and meowed derogatorily at him when he looked into underneath after jumped up to his feet because of a sudden contact at his right shin. It was like someone rubbed a deck brush against him and he’s grossed out very much.

If he were to name the cat, it’d be _Fishbait_.   
  
That obnoxious self-entitled brat thinks entire space in the shoppe belongs to him.   
That irritates Harry’s territoriality. He left his marks first! His favorite place at inside the counter, his secret stash in the back room, most of all the privilege of sharing the space with the radius of three-foot with Uma.

Now would you look at that, there she is. With Guppy! The cat totally took his place within three days.   
How could he? No. How dare he! 

That’s the reason why Harry hates him.

Uma’s been enamored with how cuddable Guppy in fact was once she spent two hours on giving him a bath and decent cares for matted fur.   
He’s a cat with vibrant orange with none stripes and four legs are like wearing white socks. And Uma loved the softness. He’s very fluffy, and gentle with her as if he knows who’s the boss.   
All aggression stored in that soft body was at Harry and only him. 

_That double-faced bastard..._

Harry cursed the cat and his arrogant behavior and the pain on his finger cushion with accidental self-harm. Then decided that he better try looking for something else to focus on. 

Turned around, forcibly looked away from Uma and her favorite boy—for the record, it’s a temporal thing—, then found the sight of Gil shoveling half-baked yolks into his mouth. Some of them are dripping down from the corner of his mouth to his strong jaw.   
Then it’s natural for Harry to straighten up and go grabbing some napkin that is just a bunch of non-woven wrapping papers cutting up to suitable size for the use, balled it and thrown at Gil.

“Oi, quit wolfin’ and wipe your mouth”

Harry knew Uma won’t be happy with any customers who drop foods on wherever she needs to clean up. 

Ursula’s fish and chips are one of well known unhygienic places on the isle and has been branded “F” as in failure from the department of unhealth, which was an highly profited organization provided by Skinner the master chef. He’s never grown to like rats after these creatures destroyed his career at five-star French restaurant in Paris.   
While isle residents never cared it poor standards of hygiene, Ursula has been unhappy about it and for the first time in years shoved a old mop that its twines has fallen out of the socket into the hand of her daughter, told her to work on it. The total disbelief on Uma’s face was fabulous.  
However, no matter how funny it was, Harry would never want her to work herself to the death by tackling impossible. That’s how hard it seems to improve sanitary conditions of the chip shoppe.

Once his duty to keep Uma one less bothered for a day is done, Harry heard low chuckles behind his back.   
Now let’s not looking over there, he told himself. But traitorous part of himself just peaked at the source of laughter out of the corner of his eye. 

In the edge of counter, Guppy is curling up, showing off his ability of imitating one big hairy orange. Uma cooed something at him. Petting sleepy cat’s head with such a loving way.

Ugh. If only she realized that Harry had soft hair on his head too.   
He knew it’s ridiculous but couldn’t stop thinking about it. After all he got more body surface for her to pet. Okay, that’s creepy.

What’s wrong with his unusual desperation for Uma’s attention? He getting desperate. That’s where it’s wrong.

Growing up, Harry had never suffered from dire poverty of attention when it came to Uma. At least since Uma cut a tie with Mal. And even back then, Harry would’ve received enough when he waited for her to back her home after causing some troubles at somewhere inland of the isle.

Harry’s used to be at her affections.   
All these smiles and proximity, soft touches on his arms and deep brown eyes reflect what’s he knows in his own eyes.

Then Guppy came into the picture.  
All what he’s been thriving under are gone from one hundred to zero like turning down the volume on the TV. How is that fair? It feels like he’s having a ringing in his ears for straining them too much in complete silence.

Last night, he sneaked into the Captain Quarters uninvited, only to ended up sleeping in his own hammock at officer’s quarters after witnessed his Captain asleep with an orange figure on her stomach.   
He can’t believe that Uma went behind her own words like that. Who said _“He’ll stay in the shop”_? Guppy even had his own little bedroom in the sideboard! At the bottom!

Harry doesn’t mean to blame her, yet it makes him feel sick in stomach.   
To ease the feeling, Harry reached for Gil’s tray and stole a handful of mashed potatoes. He needed something to munch on with his misery. So as champing already mashed potatoes in his mouth, he pitied his forgotten self there. 

Having him among them all, some of crew started realizing he’s kind of moody. Usually he’s more of a cynical one. He do laugh at unfortunate moments of themselves rather than lamenting over it. 

Jonas, the gunnery officer of the Lost Revenge, shifted on his feet away from the first mate. Squeezed into Bonny’s side to avoid the noise of gnashing teeth coming from his other side.   
Bonny squinted her eyes at Jonas, disgusted by the proximity, then saw how tight Harry’s clenching his jaws as not so subtly peering over several shoulders of crewmenbers to the captain and her cat. She as well shifted so poor fellow would have a room next to her.   
In next, Gonzo nudged Desiree, alarmed youngest but never the smallest part of the crew.   
Diving deep into her own reality, the girl jolted up to another reality which Gonzo tried to inform, met Harry’s greenish blue eyes straight into the heart of whoever and drive them flinching away.   
She inadvertently bent backwards. Caused the impact noise between her head and wooden wall behind.

“Ouch!”

Uma looked up at the sound, her hands are still buried into orange fur of Guppy.   
Then puzzled expression slid onto her face as everyone was sending her complicated look, then she figured out why from where her first mate seated himself in.

“Harry,”

Uma groaned. There was no reply from Harry, he’s only giving her angry look.   
If it’s not her, it’d be taken as a threat. However, it’s just he being an angry puppy to Uma’s eyes. Sulking around just because he doesn’t get his way.

“Harry”

Uma called out with authority.

“...Yes?”

Even if he’s angry for something, Ultimately he came around in response to her demand.

“Back room. Now”

Uma jerked her chin up to narrow corridor leads to the toilet. It also has the back room which stores spare chairs and a broken chandelier, and lamps too sooty for its use. It also has been the meeting room between the duo for...well, stuff.

Uma turned on her heels before Harry started moving, knowing he’d follow.   
Crew sidled out of Harry’s way, trying their best not to provoke him. Then there’s Gil, who has no care in the world outside his eggy universe sitting in his own stool. Harry lightly kicked at it as dragging himself to dark corridor. 

On the edge of the table, Guppy raised his head up, glanced over Harry and meowed. Harry took it very personal, hissed back without risking himself heard by Uma.

  
  


When Harry followed her into the back room, Uma was sitting on the pile of broken tables.   
Adorable of her, Uma had a habit of sitting on whatever but actual things serve as a chair when her throne isn’t within the reach.  
Harry approached, pulled a chair nearby and sat on, but its back-rest comes to the front, serving as his arm rest. His chin’s on the top of leather clad forearms.   
Harry mumbled.

“So, what do you want me for? Uma”

“Me? I think it’s you who want the privacy, Harry. So,”

Uma grabbed him at his hair, pulled back a little so he’d meet her eyes.

“—What’s your problem?”

“Nothin’”

“Really? ‘Cause you’re making our crew run for the hills”

Harry didn’t look away, stubbornly engaging in the staring contest while Uma hit it.

“Harry, tell me what’s the matter”

Though Uma has a rough guess about his behavior of a kicked puppy, she’d wait for him.   
Harry stretched over her knees to settle on, pouted at her.

“You’ve been playing favorite, lass”

“Guppy is a cat. Harry. You can’t count him as your opponents”

“I don’t care if it’s a cat or a fish. I can’t count anyway”

“Don’t play on words with me”

Uma doesn’t like Harry’s self-deprecation no matter what it is about. Especially while on serious heart to heart.   
It’s not usual for VKs to have this kind of conversations. About how they feel when get left out. Most of the cases they wouldn’t have something like this even with their own family.

“Harry,”

“No”

Harry nuzzled against her knees, fringes of her leather skirt tickled his cheeks yet it’s so soothing to him. He doesn’t want her to reason. He want her to give all attention he deserves.   
Feels like Uma figured it out herself. She caressed his forehead, smooth his disheveled hair down and tucked some behind his ear.   
Harry held back a delighted moan as feeling her polished nails scratch back and forth from his nape to under the collar.

“Feel better?”

“H’m, no, need more...”

“Fine”

Uma murmured. Just above his head, Harry felt she took a deep breath as chilly feeling grazed his ear.   
For a moment, he pondered if he was being too much. Soft touch on the side of his head coaxed him to tilt a bit more, hand came to massages at earlobe.   
Nah.   
He decided that he deserved this treatment.  
This’s so good.

“How are you feeling now?”

“Wicked. I can stay here forever”

“Great. I’m not sure about having you on my knees forever, though”

Uma snickered at Harry who wore a perfect mix of content and faux hurt on his face despite a hint of amused grin was just about to form a full of it.

“So? Can we talk about it in constructive way? That you should not be jealous over a literal cat?”

“You have no idea how annoying he can gets”

“I. Don’t. Care. He’s a cat, you’re a human”

Debating back and forth over the subject:if a human should be jealous over a cat at this rate, Uma’s pretty sure that she’d get headaches soon. 

“And I know you’re gonna say ‘but Uma’ so no buts. Quit being a big baby”

“But Uma, ...I hate it when you warned me ahead and it happened”

Harry resigned. A huff slipped out of his mouth as he slowly lifted his head up from her knees.

“Can I at least sleep in the Captain Quarters tonight? Without him?”

VKs don’t say “please”, but he sure sounds like it with watery blue eyes under knitted eyebrows and pouty lips.   
And when he does that crocodile tears, Uma needs her whole willpower not to look weak for it. Because he’s damn good actor.

“...I never said you can’t”

She kind of bent. Didn’t she?

  
  


In the late morning, Harry swaggered his way to the chip shoppe. Feeling groggy from the lack of sleeping hours yet so good. He even did make the bed for Uma to see she’d never regret having him in her room. 

He pushed the saloon door open, checked his sword in the barrel in the corner, then realized...no hisses from his arch-nemesis. 

_Where would that bastard be?_

The cook walked out of the kitchen, recognized the boy.

“If that’s what you’re looking for, the cat was adopted to Desiree’s baby sister this morning”

Harry looked up from the floor where the cat used to be planting his hairy arse on, the red hair woman is looking at him as blunt as he is to her. 

Then Harry is torn apart between two emotions:giddiness that Uma gave Guppy away proven she’s not as in love with the fur as Harry thought, and the fear that if he drove Uma into do that against her will. Well mostly the former but guess what, as much as he hated the cat he cared about that the cat has made Uma happier. And he didn’t mean to take it away or make her throw away. 

Did he do it?   
He felt a vague sense of unease.

Just as the cook disappeared into the dark across the dim light hanging on the lintel of kitchen floor, Uma came out. Her eyes landed on him standing at the entrance with his lower lip sucked on.

“What’s gotten you like that now?”

You delicate damsel. What’s your pet peeve today? Uma teasingly addressed him.   
Harry couldn’t help chuckling himself. Then he found the nerve to ask.

“Did you give Guppy away?”

“Desiree practically begged me for her baby sister. The girl too begged me to give him in exchange of supply runs. Who am I to take her new friend away from a little girl?”

Last night Harry had Uma to all himself, while Guppy was left in Desiree’s hands since she volunteered. She brought him back to her home, and her little sister loved her new friend so much.   
The first thing in the morning, Desiree came to the shoppe with her little sister and Guppy, asked if she can have him.   
With a little girl in tears holding the cat in her arms, Uma couldn’t say no. She gave him up. No charge because what a seventeen years old would have a pre-school child go supply run for her? The isle is cruel place and Uma would never risk it for anything to let a baby walk through the market. 

“He’s happy with them”

Uma shrugged it off with that, and “Oh” was only thing Harry managed. 

Guess that rotten orange sure has a way to charm people with his fluffiness. Harry figured his hatred was standing on the crisis of his personality:charming, there to be spoiled, and Uma’s favorite. Also he has fluffy bedhead every morning. So fluffiness also apply to him too.

As now considering himself somewhat a human cat, Harry offered Uma a too-smug-for-sympathetic-smile.

“You still have me”

“I don’t know how it’s supposed to make me feel better but thanks, I guess”

_Besides_ , —Uma continued.

“Turned out the cat do take a lot of care. They bite and misbehave when they feel forgotten”

With a tilt of her head, the angle shows a bite mark on her neck better. And Harry smirked at it.

“They sure do”


End file.
